“Do you think Leo would be interested in me if I weren’t a nice guy?” He tried not to sound coy with her. They were all under a lot of pressure and he didn’t want to add to hers.
She let out a long breath through her nose. “He doesn’t have the best track record with guys. I don’t know if he’s mentioned it before, but most of his ex-boyfriends have either stolen from him, lied to him, left him large debts, or generally tromped on his heart. I’m one of his best friends. I’ve always been there to help put him back together.” She paused and looked sorrowfully down the hall. “This is the first time he’s ended up in the hospital, literally having to be put back together.”
Aud patted her arm. “I’m here to help with that too. It’s not something you and Felix are going to have to go through by yourselves.”
“Good. ’Cause if you ditch him now, I’ll be the one burning down your house and gallery.” Her hard stare bored into him. “Got it?”
“Yes. But trust me. I’m not going to hurt him in any way, shape, or form.”
Before she could answer, the door to the consultation room opened and Felix walked out. He didn’t look too much the worse for wear.
“Ms. Barnaird, if we could talk to you now?” Benet gestured for her to enter the room.
Rising, she paused as she passed Felix. “You okay?”
He gave her a stiff nod. “I told them.”
She touched his arm. “That’s probably for the best. Good for you. You’ll be safe with Aud. I’ll be out in a few.” Then she walked into the room.
Felix sat in the chair she’d vacated. Silence blanketed them for a few minutes, and then Felix swallowed hard. “That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but you know something? Talking about it to the police and knowing that Axe, I mean Randal, is in jail, at least for the moment, makes me feel a lot safer.”
“Good.” Aud turned his head and studied Felix. The man sitting next to him looked more like the man he’d met in the drawing class. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. I’m sure Leo will be happy about that too.”
A frown darkened Felix’s face. “When he stabbed Leo, something in me snapped. For a moment I think I was afraid he was about to do to Leo what he’d done to me. Even though we were out there in that parking lot with all those people around, somehow I could see him violating Leo, and I just couldn’t let that happen.” He looked down at his bandaged hands. “I’ve never hit another person like that before. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I still don’t remember who pulled me off him. I just wanted to pound him into the pavement.”
“You did what you had to so you could save Leo.” Aud started to touch Felix’s leg, like he had Julie’s, but he stopped himself. He remembered Leo saying Felix didn’t want to be touched.
“I wonder if other rape victims have had the chance to beat their monsters. I don’t know if I’d have been able to do it if he hadn’t stabbed Leo. That was what pushed me over the edge.”
“I think it’s noble that you acted to save Leo. That’s a good thing.”
“The detective guy says that with Julie’s video, I won’t face charges of assault on Axe. I can’t believe there would be the possibility I could face charges. Julie too. He’s the bad guy.”
Aud’s phone rang. “Yes, he was definitely the villain in this.” He pulled out his phone and looked at it. “It’s Heather.” He swiped it to answer. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Kinda quiet here. How’s Leo?”
“In surgery. We’re all talking with the police right now while we wait for him to get out. My turn’s next.”
“Oh. Well, I hope everything turns out okay. The glass guy called a little bit ago. He found the right-sized glass, but it’s going to be tomorrow before he can get back to the house. He apologized and said there was some kind of accident, but he’d give you a discount for not being able to get it done today.”
Aud watched as a nurse in blue scrubs walked toward them. “That’s okay. You might have to handle that too. I may be up here a while.”
The nurse stopped in front of Felix. “You’re with Mr. Caldwell?”
“There’s a nurse here. I’ve got to go.” Aud swiped off the call without waiting to hear what Heather said. His heart raced.
“That’s us,” Felix replied.
“He’s out of surgery,” the nurse continued. “He’s in recovery. It looks like he’s going to have a scar, but other than that, he should be fine.”
“When can we see him?” Aud asked.
The nurse looked from Felix to him. “Are you family?”
“I’m his boyfriend.”
Felix came to his rescue. “Leo’s family is on the way, but it’ll be a little while before they get here. Aud is his boyfriend. Leo will want to see him as soon as he can. He said it was okay for Julie and me to be here before he went into surgery. I say Aud can be here.”
A tired frown etched itself on her face. “If the family or Mr. Caldwell has an issue with your being here, then you’ll have to leave.”